What cheap guns are actual bargains?

[JimD]

I will second the Stoeger Bullshark and include the predecessor P35 which is very similar and the even newer P35X/Spirit X (Remington). I've shot the Bullshark and I own three P35s. The 22 is about as accurate as my much more expensive Caiman X (P35 currently has a higher 30 yard challenge score). The 22 is two years old now and still has all the O-rings it came with. No leaks, nothing required other than hammer spring tuning and turning a couple screws to improve the trigger. I've messed with the regulator of the 177 and 25 and that required some O-ring replacements but otherwise they have been trouble free too and the 25 is a year older. These are all sub-$500 airguns that can literally compete with much more expensive airguns.

 

[bigbuck89]

The notos is a great gun that has enough power to hunt with. For the price it’s definitely worth looking at.

 

[Sawney Bean]

The notos is a great gun that has enough power to hunt with. For the price it’s definitely worth looking at.

I should have gone with the Notos, but back when Midway had their clearance sale on Hatsan Jets I got sucked in by the low price. After fixing problems I shouldn't have had to fix on a new gun, I've got to say it's actually a pretty decent little gun, but not one I would recommend to anyone else. If I was taking a kid out rabbit hunting though it would be perfect. From everything I've read the Notos is just a better gun and doesn't need to be fixed straight out of the box.

 

[bigbuck89]

I should have gone with the Notos, but back when Midway had their clearance sale on Hatsan Jets I got sucked in by the low price. After fixing problems I shouldn't have had to fix on a new gun, I've got to say it's actually a pretty decent little gun, but not one I would recommend to anyone else. If I was taking a kid out rabbit hunting though it would be perfect.

I bet in the near future we will see used ones selling cheap.

 

[MongooseV8]

The Gamo Urban, and for a few dollars more the Coyote. Very accurate and solidly built. They will last for many years, whereas most cheap pcps will be in pieces at the landfill.

 

[uladz]

The Walther Reign, UXT (the one that I have), or M2 (newer version).

Hi Mike! Do you like Walther Reign? I was looking at it, but the design and look wasn't clicking with me, so I passed. Maybe I was wrong, I don't have any experience with Walther PCPs. And it's actually it's not that cheap compared to Notos, or Snowpeak PPs.

 

[Septicdeath]

Hatsan 95.

For the price you pay you can't beat them. If they break send them back. When the warranty expires buy another.

Great offhand shooters and plinkers. Cheap as dirt. I shoot one daily. I keep a pair running at all times. I have bought 9 in the past 5 years and I'll buy another one soon.

Just save the box. You will be sending them back.

Or do the work on them. They are much better cleaned up and tuned.

 

[Septicdeath]

I guess I'll have to add the CR600W, XS60C and the QB series rifles

 

[Nico5999]

The Gamo Urban, and for a few dollars more the Coyote. Very accurate and solidly built. They will last for many years, whereas most cheap pcps will be in pieces at the landfill.

+1 had a Coyote that I sold. I regret selling it. Excellent gun. BSA barrels on them too so they're virtually all shooters.

 

[Mike_Lenardon]

Beeman regulated under lever. Bought one in 177 made a HDD for it along with a new shroud. Shoots 7.9 CPHPs accurately at 920 for 65 shots before falling on the reg . It was 199 bucks at Midway. Less than 10 bucks invested in home made parts. That's pretty cheap.

 

[$p00kygH0ST]

NOTOS all the way. NOTOS NOTOS NOTOS

 

[RM.510bigbore]

Umarex Airsaber $230.00. with Easton 2219 aluminum arrows stupid accurate at 100 and 120 yards..

 

[Bedrock Bob]

Or do the work on them. They are much better cleaned up and tuned.

Sure. I agree.

I'm talking about broken triggers and springs that make the gun inoperable. Within the first year that's what the warranty is for. A "tune" just won't fix a broken trigger. I send it back and get it repaired for free.

I do file the trigger housing to allow first stage adjustment. I correct the flaw in the stock at the rear trigger screw. I eliminate the slack in the rear iron sight. I narrow the post on the front sight. I clean and polish the barrel. I fit a new front mounting bushing if it has play and put a couple thin nylon washers between the stock and action at the front mounting crosspin. These are the only modifications I feel are necessary.

The way I shoot them a better shot cycle wouldn't make that much difference so i dont bother "tuning" them. If you are trying to get one to pattern on paper with a scope off a rest it might be worth your while. I shoot a different rifle for that.

Shooting them offhand with iron sights they pattern just fine out of the box. So I don't bother. Most will do 1" patterns at 25 if I do my part. So I'm just not concerned with making one shoot any better. I'm busy making ME shoot better.

When I can outshoot the rifle standing offhand I'll get a better rifle. Until then the Hatsan is perfect just the way the Turks made it. If the triggers held up they might be worth rebuilding. But they don't. So they aren't.

I have other air rifles that shoot much more accurately than the Hatsan. I can bust shotgun shells offhand almost as well with the Hatsan as the Diana or the HW's. So for me the rifle is ideal without spending any time or money trying to make it "better".

 

[Septicdeath]

Sure. I agree.

I'm talking about broken triggers and springs that make the gun inoperable. Within the first year that's what the warranty is for. A "tune" just won't fix a broken trigger. I send it back and get it repaired for free.

I do file the trigger housing to allow first stage adjustment. I correct the flaw in the stock at the rear trigger screw. I eliminate the slack in the rear iron sight. I narrow the post on the front sight. I clean and polish the barrel. I fit a new front mounting bushing if it has play and put a couple thin nylon washers between the stock and action at the front mounting crosspin. These are the only modifications I feel are necessary.

The way I shoot them a better shot cycle wouldn't make that much difference so i dont bother "tuning" them. If you are trying to get one to pattern on paper with a scope off a rest it might be worth your while. I shoot a different rifle for that.

Shooting them offhand with iron sights they pattern just fine out of the box. So I don't bother. Most will do 1" patterns at 25 if I do my part. So I'm just not concerned with making one shoot any better. I'm busy making ME shoot better.

When I can outshoot the rifle standing offhand I'll get a better rifle. Until then the Hatsan is perfect just the way the Turks made it. If the triggers held up they might be worth rebuilding. But they don't. So they aren't.

I have other air rifles that shoot much more accurately than the Hatsan. I can bust shotgun shells offhand almost as well with the Hatsan as the Diana or the HW's. So for me the rifle is ideal without spending any time or money trying to make it "better".

Have never had a problem with the hatsan triggers. Have made them better. Each to your own. I'd rather make any rifle shoot and function better than factory. Hatsan triggers are pretty simple to work on. No problem for me. A better shot cycle always helps, with a cheep, midrange or top tear rifle. It's my opinion but also a FACT.

 

[A.G.R]

Sure. I agree.

I'm talking about broken triggers and springs that make the gun inoperable. Within the first year that's what the warranty is for. A "tune" just won't fix a broken trigger. I send it back and get it repaired for free.

I do file the trigger housing to allow first stage adjustment. I correct the flaw in the stock at the rear trigger screw. I eliminate the slack in the rear iron sight. I narrow the post on the front sight. I clean and polish the barrel. I fit a new front mounting bushing if it has play and put a couple thin nylon washers between the stock and action at the front mounting crosspin. These are the only modifications I feel are necessary.

The way I shoot them a better shot cycle wouldn't make that much difference so i dont bother "tuning" them. If you are trying to get one to pattern on paper with a scope off a rest it might be worth your while. I shoot a different rifle for that.

Shooting them offhand with iron sights they pattern just fine out of the box. So I don't bother. Most will do 1" patterns at 25 if I do my part. So I'm just not concerned with making one shoot any better. I'm busy making ME shoot better.

When I can outshoot the rifle standing offhand I'll get a better rifle. Until then the Hatsan is perfect just the way the Turks made it. If the triggers held up they might be worth rebuilding. But they don't. So they aren't.

I have other air rifles that shoot much more accurately than the Hatsan. I can bust shotgun shells offhand almost as well with the Hatsan as the Diana or the HW's. So for me the rifle is ideal without spending any time or money trying to make it "better".

What breaks on the triggers? Quattro triggers seem decent , I’ve done one on my Turkey Tommy that is as good as most REKORDS. SMPLE ,, replace the front two. TRIGGER SCREWS with longer set screws , no need to file the blade flat to weaken it. I have thinned the side profile width of the blade for better feel

That being said. the piston seals are junk too.. I made my own cup seal.
shortening the stroke a tiny bit taming it down. ..

The factory 47 coil spring and new guides with a small top hat gets me a very nice 12 ft lbs 825 /8.4 .177.

 

[Bedrock Bob]

What breaks on the triggers? Quattro triggers seem decent , I’ve done one on my Turkey Tommy that is as good as most REKORDS. SMPLE ,, replace the front two. TRIGGER SCREWS with longer set screws , no need to file the blade flat to weaken it. I have thinned the side profile width of the blade for better feel

That being said. the piston seals are junk too.. I made my own cup seal.
shortening the stroke a tiny bit taming it down. ..

The factory 47 coil spring and new guides with a small top hat gets me a very nice 12 ft lbs 825 /8.4 .177.

The internals are die cast pot metal. Look at a schematic and locate part #109. The "drop safety" . There is a thin loop that the pin goes through. This part breaks on all of them. You can't buy replacement parts. You are stuck making one or replacing the entire assembly.

The housing is sheet metal. It bends outward. The cross pins are soft and bend as well. They are simple to disassemble and reassemble but impossible to fix when they break.

Of the 15 rifles I have shot EVERY SINGLE ONE had trigger failures on part #109.

You don't need longer screws to get adjustment. You can do it that way, sure. But all you really need is to flatten the casting marks on the trigger housing. Just a few strokes with a file allows the factory screw to go farther down. Easy and it takes seconds to do.

The guns are an engineering masterpiece poorly executed. I love them. Cheap and not worth messing with. As long as you get a shipping label to send them back for warranty service they are the best low budget airgun out there. Just don't expect 10k trouble free shots. In 15 rifles I've never had one last. For a fellow that shoots less they will last a long time. If you shoot them every day the isues become evident pretty quickly.

 

[A.G.R]

The internals are die cast pot metal. Look at a schematic and locate part #109. The "drop safety" . There is a thin loop that the pin goes through. This part breaks on all of them. You can't buy replacement parts. You are stuck making one or replacing the entire assembly.

The housing is sheet metal. It bends outward. The cross pins are soft and bend as well. They are simple to disassemble and reassemble but impossible to fix when they break.

Of the 15 rifles I have shot EVERY SINGLE ONE had trigger failures on part #109.

You don't need longer screws to get adjustment. You can do it that way, sure. But all you really need is to flatten the casting marks on the trigger housing. Just a few strokes with a file allows the factory screw to go farther down. Easy and it takes seconds to do.

The guns are an engineering masterpiece poorly executed. I love them. Cheap and not worth messing with. As long as you get a shipping label to send them back for warranty service they are the best low budget airgun out there. Just don't expect 10k trouble free shots. In 15 rifles I've never had one last. For a fellow that shoots less they will last a long time. If you shoot them every day the isues become evident pretty quickly.

No sh!t … that middle sear breaks. WHERE AT THE lower TIP ,OR TOP? That’s sad as mines new , and really nice for what it is. Poor heat treating and tempering must be the issue. They are built to a LOW price point. The breech block and bolt are horrid to.

I got mine in a sideways trade slash purchase and it’s a garage gun.

 

[beerthief]

The internals are die cast pot metal. Look at a schematic and locate part #109. The "drop safety" . There is a thin loop that the pin goes through. This part breaks on all of them. You can't buy replacement parts. You are stuck making one or replacing the entire assembly.

The housing is sheet metal. It bends outward. The cross pins are soft and bend as well. They are simple to disassemble and reassemble but impossible to fix when they break.

Of the 15 rifles I have shot EVERY SINGLE ONE had trigger failures on part #109.

You don't need longer screws to get adjustment. You can do it that way, sure. But all you really need is to flatten the casting marks on the trigger housing. Just a few strokes with a file allows the factory screw to go farther down. Easy and it takes seconds to do.

The guns are an engineering masterpiece poorly executed. I love them. Cheap and not worth messing with. As long as you get a shipping label to send them back for warranty service they are the best low budget airgun out there. Just don't expect 10k trouble free shots. In 15 rifles I've never had one last. For a fellow that shoots less they will last a long time. If you shoot them every day the isues become evident pretty quickly.

SO with buying 15 of "them" you would have saved untold amount of cash and frustration and just bought a quality gun . just my opinion !
Stan in KY .

 

[Sawney Bean]

The guns are an engineering masterpiece poorly executed..

I couldn't have summed that up better. To me Hatsans are like that kid that could get into Caltech but just wants to smoke weed and play video games.

 

[Bedrock Bob]

SO with buying 15 of "them" you would have saved untold amount of cash and frustration and just bought a quality gun . just my opinion !
Stan in KY .

I have many quality rifles. I save an untold amount of cash wearing out the cheap guns on training offhand.

Let's face it. A Hatsan rifle is a fraction of the cost of an HW, FWB or AA. It is a value. You can shoot the he'll out of them and never worry about repairs for a year. I can wear out 4 a year and my quality rifles are spared the extreme shot count.

I appreciate the sage advice. But it just does not make sense to shoot a fine gun 100k shots a year training. It's just not logical. If I want to shoot for accuracy I shoot the HW. If I want to practice form and trigger timing I shoot a rifle that's disposable. That's just how I handle it and so far it has worked to my advantage.

I can see I have rubbed some guys the wrong way sharing my experience. I'm just telling it like it is after destroying a lot of Hatsans. If you guys don't agree or think I should be doing it differently then that's fine. But I'm going to keep on telling it like it is based on years of experience.